Electrochemical energy storage lies at the core of all European agendas aimed at facilitating the transition to renewable energy and meeting decarbonization goals. Devices targeting high-power energy storage are increasingly important, yet very few options exist in the market. Electrochemical double-layer capacitors are the most common, but the materials used, mainly activated carbon, carry a large footprint. Thus, there is a clear need to advance new materials for high-power energy storage. Furthermore, these developments should focus on new materials that are more abundant and preferably not scarce, as well as on electrolytes that are more eco-friendly and easier to recycle. The overall ambition is to promote a circular economy contributing to more sustainable energy storage solutions.

This presentation provides an overview of the latest advances in the design of functional materials to enhance the electrochemical metrics and extend the lifetime of asymmetric supercapacitors. The lecture addresses the design, development, and testing of different electrode materials, including composite self-healing materials capable of protecting devices under electrochemical stress.

A comprehensive overview of the most promising materials, highlighting their performance in aqueous electrolytes, will be given, and the path towards scaling up and commercializing devices will be outlined.

Acknowledgments: The author would like to express her gratitude to all team members working in this topic. The author thanks Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) for financial support under the projects PTDC/QUI-ELT/28299/2017 (http://doi.org/10.54499/PTDC/QUI-ELT/2075/2020) , UIDB/00100/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDP/00100/2020 ), UIDP/00100/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/00100/2020), PTDC/QUI-ELT/2075/2020